


And the Sun Will Rise

by GinnyK



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Family, Gen, Post-Episode: s02e11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 04:10:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6358774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinnyK/pseuds/GinnyK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post ep for the fall finale of season 2.  Alfred, Bruce and Selina head back to Wayne Manor and try to put the day's events behind them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from Les Miserable-Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.~~Victor Hugo
> 
> This is my first Gotham story. My husband and I came a little late to the party and just finished binge watching a season and a half over the last month or so, thanks to Netflix, Amazon and On Demand. Needless to say, we are hooked.

It was well after midnight by the time Alfred, Bruce and Selina returned to Wayne Manor.  They would have been home sooner but as Alfred had gotten into the car after leaving Galavan’s place the adrenaline he’d been riding on for hours subsided and the true nature of his injuries became apparent to all involved, despite his attempts to hide them from his young companions.  So a trip to the ER extended the endless day even more.  He was patched up, medicated and sent home with a strong suggestion to rest for the next few days.  Although he had no plans to do so, he nodded in agreement as he shook hands with young ER resident before heading to the waiting room to find Bruce and Selina sound asleep, propped up against each other.  He nudged them both awake and they slowly made their way to the car.

Their driver ended up having to wake all 3 of them when they pulled up to the mansion.  Selina had asked to be dropped off in the middle of Gotham City but Alfred wouldn’t hear of it.  As much as he struggled to figure out the girl’s “end game” deep down he knew she did genuinely care about Bruce and so he did his best to trust her, as much as he could. She’d certainly proven herself over the last 12 hours.  So he offered her the guest room for as long as she’d like.  He was pretty sure that wouldn’t be very long but he felt good about the offer and it had made Bruce smile, something few things seem to do lately.

“Are you two hungry?” Alfred asked as they all stood in the foyer, half asleep and rather dazed from the day’s activities, and in Alfred’s case a nice dose of pain killers.

“I could eat,” Selina announced as she kicked off her boots, leaving them in the middle of the marble floor.  A little glare from Alfred and she set them aside, out of the way. 

“We can make something Alfred,” Bruce offered as he helped Alfred out of his coat.  He started to open the closet door to hang it up when he caught sight of the blood on it and froze, holding the gray coat out at arms’ length.

“Well, that coat was getting old anyway,” Alfred said as he grabbed it and headed for the kitchen where he shoved it in the trashcan.  Selina and Bruce followed him wordlessly and watched as he put on the kettle for tea and started to open the refrigerator.

“We can handle this, right Selina,” Bruce said as he gently pushed the fridge door closed and motioned for Alfred to step aside.

“Sure kid, whatever you say,” she agreed with as much enthusiasm as she was capable of showing. 

Alfred nodded in agreement as he headed for the stairs tucked in the corner of the kitchen.  He paused a second to take a deep breath as he reached for the railing to head up to his room.  “I’ll be back down in a little while.  Try not to burn the house down,” he teased.  “That’s the last thing we need tonight.”

Bruce and Selina laughed behind him.

“He has his own staircase?” Selina asked as she slid onto one of the stools at the island. 

“It goes up to the whole second floor,” Bruce explained.  “It’s not like he can’t use the main staircase, it’s just closest to his suite.”

“Your butler has a suite,” she asked, with more shock than she had intended.

“Of course, what did you think we made him live in a closet?” Bruce asked just shaking his head.  It was times like this that made him realize just how far apart their worlds really were.

“So what should we make?” Selina asked as she opened the fridge.  “And more importantly, do you know how to cook?”

“I can cook.  Alfred taught me,” Bruce said as he opened the cabinet and pulled out a griddle.  “Grab some cheese and the butter.”

Selina grabbed the butter dish and hunted around for a minute looking for cheese slices wrapped in plastic, the only kind she ever ate.  Not finding any she reached for a block of something that looked relatively “normal.”  She grabbed a jar of pickles and a can of soda.  “You want one too?” she asked as she waved the can in Bruce’s direction. He didn’t normally drink soda, he preferred hot tea, but something in his head told him he’d get teased by Selina if he drank hot tea so he nodded as took the butter and cheese from her.

The worked quietly, buttering the bread and slicing the cheese.  When they got the three sandwiches on the griddle Bruce excused himself to run up to his room to change.

By the time Alfred had come back to the kitchen after managing to get himself cleaned up and changed into pajamas and a robe, the sandwiches were done, the tea steeping and 3 places at the table set, complete with cloth napkins to the amusement of Selina.

“Smells wonderful Master Bruce, Miss Kyle,” Alfred announced as he sat down on the chair Bruce had pulled out for him. 

The smell of the grilled cheese sandwiches made all three of the realize it had been a rather long time since any of them had eaten anything.  They made some small talk about the events of the day but it was clear none of them were interested in getting into an in depth conversation about what had happened. They were safe and sound, for the time being, and that was all that mattered at that moment.

When the meal was over Selina cleared the table while Bruce cut the apple pie Alfred had made the day before.  Alfred poured himself another cup of tea and out of habit poured one for Bruce, leading Selina to let out a little snicker in the direction of Bruce.

“That’s enough out of you, missy,” Alfred said with a little glare and a little smile.  “Would you like to try some?” he asked hoping to instill a little civility into the girl’s world.

“Sure, as long as I don’t have to hold up my pinky when I drink,” she smirked.  Bruce snorted a little and Alfred just rolled his eyes as he grabbed another tea cup from the cabinet.

Selina declared the tea “okay” and the apple pie “delicious”.

Bruce and Selina cleaned up, loading the dishwasher and putting away the rest of the pie as Alfred remained at the table, finishing his tea and glancing at the newspaper he obviously hadn’t had a chance to read earlier in the day. 

“Master Bruce, why don’t you run upstairs and find something suitable for Miss Kyle to sleep in.  The guest room is ready for her,” Alfred suggested.

“Certainly Alfred,” Bruce said.  “If you’ll excuse me, Selina, I will be right back.” 

“Go right ahead,” she replied as she tipped her head back to finish the last of her soda.  “Is he always that polite?” she asked as she slumped onto one of the stools.

“I would hope so,” Alfred replied as he took a seat on the stool next to Selina, causing her to sit up a straighter and show the older man a little bit of respect.  “Now Miss Kyle, I think you are well aware of my feelings for Master Bruce as well as my skepticism of you and your motives.  However, you did show today that you can be a great asset to….to our lives,” Alfred said, choosing his words rather carefully.  “That being said, if you hurt that boy I will make your life a living hell.”

“That wouldn’t take much, old man,” Selina snorted.  “But I get your point,” she said, trying to use a more appropriate tone.  “And I appreciate the offer to stay.”

“You’re welcome, Miss Kyle,” Alfred said sincerely as he slid off the stool and headed to the foyer to lock up. 

Selina stayed on the stool, looking around the kitchen as she waited for Bruce to reappear. He came down a minute later dressed in flannel pajama pants and a GCPD t-shirt Detective Gordon had given him. He handed her a pair of sweatpants and a faded gray t-shirt that Alfred had been threatening to throw out.  She headed for the bathroom with a smile as she hugged the clothes to her chest, much like a “normal” teenage girl would.  Alfred smiled at the sight as he came back into the kitchen. 

“Are you okay, Master Bruce?” Alfred asked.  It was the first time they’d been alone since the whole ordeal had ended.

Bruce just nodded, not trusting himself to keep it together if he actually spoke.  Truth was, Alfred was feeling the same way.  The older man smiled and winked at the curly haired boy.

“You should get some sleep,” Alfred added as he got himself a glass of water.

“I should get some sleep? I’m not the one who spent a few hours in the ER tonight,” Bruce teased.  “You should get some sleep too.  Really Alfred, Selina and I are fine.  We’ll go to bed soon,” he promised.

“Very well, Master Bruce,” Alfred said quietly.  He took a step towards Bruce and suddenly stopped as Selina came back into the room.  He thought twice about giving Bruce a quick hug as he did every night, not wanting to embarrass the boy in front of Selina.  Bruce just let out a little laugh and wrapped his arms around Alfred.

“Thank you for finding me and saving my life,” he whispered into Alfred’s shoulder.

“My pleasure, Master B,” he whispered as he pressed a quick kiss to the top of Bruce’s dark hair.  Selina cleared her throat a little from the doorway as Bruce held out his hand to her.  She grabbed it and Alfred found himself being hugged by both the kids, much to his surprise and delight.  He pressed a kiss to the top of both of their heads and untangled himself from their embrace. 

“Get some sleep,” he said with a smile as he picked up his glass of water and headed for the stairs.  He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should really leave two young teens alone but the painkiller was wearing off and he desperately needed to get in bed before he fell over.

“Would you like to watch TV or something?” Bruce asked stifling back an enormous yawn.  Selina started to answer but ended up with a big yawn of her own.  “Maybe we should just go to bed,” Bruce suggested.  Selina nodded and followed him up the stairs.  They parted ways at the top of the stairs with shy smiles and whispered goodnights. 

Twenty minutes later all three residents of Wayne Manor were sound asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The sudden flash of lightning and clap of thunder woke Alfred with a start.  He glanced at his pocket watch on the bedside table, 2:42, he hadn’t even been asleep for two hours.  With a sigh he rolled over gingerly and pulled the covers back up under his chin.  Sleep was slow in returning.  Each time he closed his eyes he was bombarded with a vision of Bruce, his life in grave danger, desperately yelling for someone to save him.

He curled up, listening to the sound of the storm, thinking about how much his life had changed recently.  Two years ago Bruce was a fairly outgoing, social preteen.  He had become more independent and Alfred’s role in his life was changing, diminishing even. And Alfred had been fine with that, he’d spent 12 years with the boy and while he wouldn’t have changed a thing, he was ready to branch out a little, get out of the manor so to speak.

Now a teenager, Bruce had been forced to grow up much too quickly after his world had been shattered in an instant by the hand of a sociopath.  The sight of young Bruce, standing in the shadows of the dark street, trying not to look in the direction of his murdered parents haunted Alfred’s dreams.  The way Bruce fell sobbing into his arms after running up the street, nearly slipping on his mother’s pearls, would stay with him always.

By 3:15 Alfred had all but given up on going back to sleep without the help of some chamomile tea, or a shot of Scotch.  He sat up carefully, trying to decide if he could gather enough energy to actually go down and make tea.  Scotch, he decided quickly didn’t really mix with the painkillers and antibiotics he’d been given at the hospital. 

He didn’t bother pulling on his robe, he just slid his feet into his slippers and headed down the back staircase.  When he got to the kitchen he was surprised to see the carton of milk on the counter with a teaspoon next to it.  He carefully touched the teakettle, finding it still warm.  He turned the flame back on under the kettle and headed for the library. 

He stopped in the doorway unnoticed.  Bruce was sitting in the corner of the couch, wrapped up in a quilt his mother had made for him when he was a baby.  Tears were streaming down his face and he made no effort to wipe them away.  Alfred cleared his throat quietly, trying to let Bruce know he was there without startling him. 

“Alfred, are you okay?” Bruce asked as he lifted his head to look at his beloved mentor.  “Are you in pain, do you need something?”  Bruce quickly wiped his face, pushed aside the quilt and stood up as Alfred stepped into the room.

“I’m fine Master B.  Storm woke me up,” he explained as he motioned for Bruce to sit back down.  “Are you okay?  Did you sleep at all?”

“I did, for a little while.  Storm woke me too.  Came down for tea,” he explained, motioning towards the tea up on the coffee table.  As if on cue the kettle whistled.

“Would you like more tea?” he asked.

“No thank you, I’m fine,” Bruce replied as he curled back up under the quilt, staring at the fire.

Alfred came back into the library and headed for the arm chair opposite the fireplace.  Bruce held up the edge of the quilt in a silent invitation, one Alfred took gratefully.  He settled down on the couch, setting the tea on the coffee table to cool a bit.  He turned sideways a little, reaching to ruffle Bruce’s dark hair a little before draping his arm over the back of the couch.

“Would you like to talk about it?” he asked quietly, not really able to get a handle on Bruce at that moment.  Usually he could, but in the middle of the night, slightly drugged and in the dark room he was having trouble.  The little non-committal shrug of Bruce’s thin shoulders didn’t help the situation.

“It was weird.  I wasn’t scared.  I was at peace,” Bruce whispered as he pulled his legs up on the couch, hugging his knees to his chest. 

“At peace.  I’m afraid I’m going to need more explanation than that Master Bruce,” Alfred said carefully, not sure where the conversation was headed but hoping to actually keep it going.

“I knew it was all out of my control.  There was very little I could do to try and stop them.  That’s not to say I didn’t try and fight,” Bruce added proudly.   “I knew if anything happened to me I would see, would see..” his voice trailed off as his tears started over again.

“You would see your parents,” Alfred whispered, completing the boy’s thought.  “So you weren’t scared and you were at peace, then why are you sitting in the dark in the middle of the night crying?”

“I guess when I went to bed and was alone for the first time since everything ended, I realized I wasn’t at peace so much anymore.”

“Finally had a few minutes to actually think about what happened, did you?” Alfred asked as he brushed back the boy’s hair.

Bruce just nodded and wiped his nose on his shirtsleeve, earning himself a little snort from Alfred.

“Master Bruce, please, a little civility,” Alfred said as he reached for the box on tissues on the coffee table.  Bruce took a tissue with a weak chuckle. 

“Who were those men?” Bruce asked.

“That bloody group misfits who somehow managed to save you?” Alfred asked with a snort.

“Yes.”

“Well, Detectives Gordon and Bullock and the Penguin you know.  The rest were some of Penguin’s associates, Ed Nygma from the GCPD and Miss Kyle, of course.  Gordon and I somehow managed to outfit them with weapons and make some sort of a plan.  Not sure how we managed to do that.  Some of those guys are not the brightest things I’ve ever met,” Alfred said with a grin.

“Why?”

“Why what, Master B?”

“Why did they help me?  How did they know I was in danger?”

“Detective Gordon found out Galavan was going after the last son of Gotham.  Didn’t take the good detective long to figure out that was you,” Alfred explained.

“And you managed to figure out where I was?”

“Yes sir, we did.  And in the nick of bloody time apparently.”

“Well, thank you for that, Alfred,” Bruce whispered.

“My sincere pleasure, Master Bruce.  I can’t imagine my life without you in it.  Helping to raise you has been the biggest accomplishment of my life.”

“I don’t know about that.  I imagine you’ve had lots of great accomplishments in your many years.”

“Many years, Master Bruce?  I’m not quite an old man.  But if you keep putting yourself in danger I’m going to start aging rather quickly,” Alfred pointed out with a grin as he reached for his tea.

“I’ll try my best to stay safe.  How about a change of scenery? Maybe the chalet in Swtizerland,” Bruce suggested, knowing it was one of Alfred’s favorite places.

“Sounds like an excellent idea, Master Bruce.  Just us, no crazy people trying to harm you, no danger lurking around the corners.  I’ll contact your school in the morning and get your work.”

“Or we can just forget the school work part,” Bruce said hopefully.

“Not a chance, sir.  I made a promise to your parents. And a big part of the that promise was to make sure you have the best education.”

“I know.  And I’ll need that education to run Wayne Enterprises one day.  I want to make my parents proud.”

“They are already proud of you, I know that with all my heart,” Alfred said quietly.  “And I’m mighty proud of you too,” he added.

“Thank you, Alfred,” Bruce whispered. 

“You’re welcome.”

Bruce drank the last swallow of his now cold tea before letting out a huge yawn and curling up in the corner of the couch.  “You might be more comfortable in your own bed,” Alfred said.  Bruce just shook his head and reached to pull the quilt up a little.  “Very well, Master B,” he whispered as he patted the boy’s shoulder.

Bruce was asleep within a few minutes.  Alfred considered heading back upstairs but he wanted to be near the boy in case either of them woke up again.  And the truth was he didn’t relish the idea of climbing the stairs again.  He’d gotten rather stiff in the last hour.  He eased himself off the couch just enough to reach the afghan off the chair.  He tossed it over his legs and since Bruce was taking up a good portion of the couch, he propped his feet on the coffee table, something he was forever nagging Bruce about.

As the Grandfather clock in the corner struck 4:00 everyone in the house was once again asleep.

~~~~~~~

The morning sun streaming in the window woke Alfred a little after 7:00.  He started to stretch a little when he realized Bruce had managed to take over the rest of the couch in his sleep and currently had his feet in his lap.  He carefully nudged the boy’s feet a little and Bruce curled up again, allowing Alfred to gingerly stretch a little and take stock of how he was feeling.  As he ran his hands through his hair he looked around the room, his eyes landing on the loveseat on the other side of the coffee table where he found Selina curled up in a ball, living up to her nickname.

Alfred sat and savored the peace and quiet, knowing soon the day would begin with the chaos that had become the norm of late. 

THE END


End file.
